Silly Little Love Story
by HarryRiddleBiggestFans
Summary: Summary : Dani used to fading into the background of her family and she never imagined that being nice to a little girl at a party would bring her to Santiago Lopez's attention. He's rich, older and used to getting what he wants. And Dani won't be an exception. Warning: Genderswap! Dantana! LittleRachel!
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary : Dani used to fading into the background of her family and she never imagined that being nice to a little girl at a party would bring her to Santiago Lopez's attention. He's rich, older and used to getting what he wants. And Dani won't be an exception.**_

**All the Maybe's and If's**

**Chapter One**

Society weddings were Daniella Watson's least favorite events to work, but the pay was good and few people even recognized her as the Other Watson Daughter – the Unremarkable One – and, bottom line, she needed the money.

Still, it was hot – a garden wedding, during summer! – And the damn silver trays were heavy. There were children running all around and the entitled little beasts were making a sport of trying to knock down the waitressing staff.

In Dani's experience, the children of Easton Falls always acted like they owned the world and the sad part was that they probably did. Less than an hour away from New York City, Easton Falls was just like one of those places they made TV shows about where everyone was unbelievable wealthy and tan. And Dani had been born in the middle of it all, so she knew.

In fact, she had gone to school with Quinn Fabray, the bride du jour, not that Quinn would remember, but Dani did.

With a sigh, Dani plastered her best 'Bite Me' smile on her lips and stepped forward, narrowly avoiding a couple of girls in frilly, pastel colored dresses than ran by, giggling in that evil, cruel way some girls had, leaving another little girl seating on the grass, crying.

"What is it?" Dani asked in a kind voice but knowing this was as likely as it was not to end badly.

"Harmony and Kitty took my new hair ribbon. And they said my dress was ugly and that I couldn't play with them." The little girl sobbed.

"I'm sorry." Dani said, patting the girl's head awkwardly with one hand. "I think your dress is very pretty, though?"

"Really?" The girl asked excitedly.

"Yes! Prettier than theirs!"

Dani knew what it was like to be attacked by Harmonys and Kittys of the world, having them take your things and make you feel like a failure. So she felt and instant kinship to this little girl.

The little girl smiled and used the skirt of her dress to wipe her face before Dani gave her one of the napkins she was carrying, and helped her to stand up and brush the grass blades off.

"I'm Rachel." The little girl said and offered her hand.

"Dani." She said, and shook the small hand. Rachel was wearing tiny, lace-gloves that made her seem like a doll. A very sad-looking doll at present, in fact; so Dani decided to do something to cheer her up. "Do you want to see the cake?"

"Okay," Rachel said with a little more enthusiasm, and she followed Dani to the table. People weren't supposed to be around the cake but Dani knew these people never noticed waitresses... or little girls.

The cake was massive, all fondant, marzipan, sugar work and all type of fillings. It stood five tiers tall and was so pretty it was almost a shame to cut it. Dani had heard it had cost close to 10 grand.

To Dani, 10 grand would mean rent and food for months, and she had a hard time figuring out what made this cake so expensive. Though it was all white perfection and it smelled delicious.

"Do you think I'll get one of the flowers when they cut it?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe," Dani said though she knew the odds weren't on the little girl's favor. Dani studied the cale for a moment. "You could have one now..." and moved to the left, quickly sweeping her hand near the mix of sugar, paste and real flowers at the base of the cake. "Woops!"

"We are not supposed to touch it!" Rachel whispered.

"I was just... swatting away a fly." Dani said with a wink. It was a trick she had mastered as a child. She knew that decoratos sometimes overlaid certain types of flowers, rather than attaching them more firmly, when they were settling the table, just to make it look pretty. You just needed to figure out which decorations were loose.

Rachel watched incredulously as Dani put the delicate sugar-flower in her hand. It was pretty and it sparkled... and smelled sweet.

"I don't recommend eating it." Dani said. "But it sure is pretty."

"Thank you!" Rachel said with the biggest smile Dani had ever seen on a child of Easton Falls. "I'm going to go show it to my daddy!" she said and scampered off.

"Just don't say it was me!" Dani said and Rachel paused just long enough to nod. Dani was a bit worried she would get in trouble but decided she would just play dumb if she did.

She was still debating if it was safer to just stick to the kitchen for the rest of the reception and help there when someone grabbed her arm roughly, nearly causing her to drop her tray and a voice hissed in her ear, "What are you doing here?"

Santiago Lopez hated Society weddings.

He had even hated his own wedding.

With rich people, everything always tended to be a circus, but a very repetitive circus at that. The Brides always tended to be pretty and young, the grooms older and rich. Still, the wedding of Quinn Fabray and Finn Hudson was the event of the season and a great opportunity to network... or rub it in the face of whichever businessman Santiago had most recently outsmarted.

This week, it was Rick Watson of Watson Communications, which as of Monday morning would be officially 55% Lopez Incorporated owned. Santiago had always hated Watson and his son, and he couldn't resist the urge to gloat, even if the wedding of the season turned out to be insufferably dull.

"Having fun?" The voice of his best friend Blaine brough Santiago out of his reprieve.

"Not particularly."

"That's because you have a twisted idea of what fun is." Blaine said, taking a sip of his champagne flute. "Which is not to say that this party isn't completely cookie-cutter and boring."

"My idea of fun is no more twisted than yours."

Blaine shrugged as if to say 'If you say so'. The he affected a false high voice to call out to Charlotte Fabray, "Darling! Those shoes are fab! We have to go shopping sometime soon!"

Charlotte gave him a tight smile and a wave but didn't come closer. "Homophobic bitch," Blaine said under his breath.

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk about shoes when we are not around these people."

"That's because I don't give a damn about shoes." Blaine said with an evil grin.

Blaine liked to pretend to be everything a cartoonish gay man was supposed to be whenever he was among the highest society of Easton Falls. It was a loudly whispered secret in Easton Falls that the heir to the Anderson family was gay and Blaine liked to put on a show, daring people to come out and say it. But no one ever did.

When Santago had first met him, his behavior had been a bit disconcerting but he had taken a liking Blaine, the heir and black sheep of the Andersons – and even though it had been over 4 years since he had divorced Blaine's sister Maddison, Santiago still thought of the other man as his brother.

Gay or not, Blaine was a great CFO, the only executive of Anderson Networks that kept his job once Lopez' had taken over, and later he had been promoted to CFO of all of Lopez' Incorporated. Blaine was a mean son of a bitch when it came to budget cuts, under the table negotiations and tax law, but he was the only person in Santiago's life that was unfailingly honest with him.

"Can we go now? Watson might not even show up."

"He will," Santiago said though internally decided to wait just another 15 minutes then take his daughter home and eat some pizza.

Thinking that, he turned to look for his daughter... and found her standing next to a waitress who was... doing something to take cake. Even from the distance he could see Rachel's eyes widen and her mouth drop a little in amazement at whatever the waitress had said or done.

And next thing he knew, his daughter was scampering toward him, clutching something in her hand while the waitress stared after her.

"Look, Daddy!" Rachel said as he reached him, showing him a sugar flower. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Just like you," he said to his daughter.

"Dani gave it to me." Rachel said and they both turned to where the waitress was standing a few seconds before. And she was still there, ut she was no longer alone. Roger Watson was with her, and he had her arm in what appeared to be a rather painful grip if the girl's expression was of any indication.

It was hard to top Rick Watson in pompous-ass-ery, but somehow his son Roger always managed to do so. And Santiago hated his guts. And this girl, Dani, was upsetting Roger... now that was interesting.

"Pumpkin, why don't you go with your Uncle Blaine to the dessert table? Grab me some cake before we go home."

"Are we going home now?" She asked.

"Yeah, just get me some cake for the road."

"OK!" Rachel said, taking her uncle's hand and pulling him toward the buffet table.

Once she was safely out of earshot, Santiago advanced, catching just the tail end of something the girl said, "...Needed the money."

"Roger, I always thought you were too much of a snob to tangle with the help." Santiago said, not even bothering to put pretense of false cheer.

Roger let go of the girl, not before giving her arm one last painful twist, he was just kind of bastards. "What do you want?"

Santiago pretended to think about it for a moment, "Nothing at all, really." Then he paused and let his lips curve into a cold smile. "You no longer have anything that could interest me."

"Just because Father let you buy into our business, that doesn't mean it's your company. It's a partnership."

"Since I own 55 percent of the company – for now – I would say that I do kind of own it, Roger. At least, more than you. What's your portion, again? 2%?"

"Ten." He said angrily.

"Same difference."

"You're a smug bastard, you know that?"

Santiago shrugged as if to say that this conversation had grown too tedious, "See you at the office on Monday." He said, turning and walking away. "Don't be late or I might have to dock your pay."

Santiago allowed himself a small laugh of self-satisfaction, and then went to collect his daughter, his best friend and head home. Maybe he would take Rachel out to buy some real food. Like pizza.

He looked around as he left, suddenly remembering the waitress. He hand't been lying when he said that he hadn't thought Roger's the type to mingle with the help, so he doubted the girl was his mistress or ex-lover, but whoever she was, she had provoked a reaction on a man who was a notorious cold fish. And that was worth noticing, as it might come to his advantage later on...

"Here is the food." Blaine said, handing him a plate with a ling-suffering sigh. "Can we go now? Noah called and he has tickets for a game tonight."

"Yankees?" Santiago asked, taking a bite of the piece of groom's cake Blaine and Rachel had brought.

"Mets." Blaine said in vague disgust. He was not a Yankee's fan. He only went to Yankees games to mock and cheer when they lost, much to his boyfriend Noah's amusement. That's how they had met, actually, about six years before, when they were at the VIP section of Yankee stadium bad-mouthing the Yankees. They got thrown out together, and then they went for drinks and ended up drunkenly making out in Noah's house. Blaine hadn't left ever since.

Santiago took a last look around, checking to see if the elder Watson had showed up or not, and finally decided it didn't matter, Roger would tell him about their little talk anyway. So they left and while Blaine went off to see the Mets, Rachel and Santiago stopped on their way home to get the pizza and later the settled into their house's private theater to watch Tangled – for the 20th time – and just spent the rest of the afternoon together.

It was rare that they got a whole afternoon all alone, and Santiago really wanted to enjoy it. His daughter was the only blood-tie he cared to acknowledge and the center of his life. For such a long time his life had been all about business and getting ahead, and then Rachel had been born and he had fallen trully in love for the first time in his life.

There was nothing at all Santiago wouldn't do for his child, so he took notice when, as he was tucking Rachel in for the night, she asked him, in a voice so sleepy that it slurred her voice: "Do you think I'll see Dani again?"

"Dani?"

"The girl who gave me the flower." Rachel said.

"Oh, Dani." Santiago said, remembering the waitress that had so annoyed Roger. And noticing how old-fashioned the name sounded. Dani. "I don't know, pumpkin."

"She was nice daddy."

"And you are adorable." He answered, kissing her foreahead and making sure her teddy bear was tucked under the covers with her.

"You have to say that because you're my dad."

"I have to say that because it's true."

"You're silly, daddy."

Santiago gave her one last pat on the back and left, smiling at his daughter who was the only person who ever called him silly anymore.

As he closed the door, he noticed the little sugar-flower sitting on his daughter's night table... and he wondered who this Dani person was.

**A/N : Okay, enjoy the first Chapter. What do you guys think? Should I continue or...? Review and let me know please!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Summary : Dani used to fading into the background of her family and she never imagined that being nice to a little girl at a party would bring her to Santiago Lopez's attention. He's rich, older and used to getting what he wants. And Dani won't be an exception.**_

**The First Day & The Dinner**

**Chapter Two**

Dani was tired. Summer was supposed to be all about relaxin and re-charging batteries for the fall semester, but so far, it had been temp job after temp job and trying to save enough to pay the tuition of her senior year of college and her share of the utilities of the place where she lived.

When she wasn't waitressing the summer-wedding circuit, it was filing or, like now, subbing for a secretary at Lopez' Incorporated. The work wasn't so bad, but it was rather dull. And she had been assigned to assist at the CFO's office, which was bussing with activity and a hot bed of possibilites for her to screw up.

"Mom, I didn't know it was going to be Quinn's wedding. I go where they send me."

"But imagine how awkward must have been for Roger? I mean, you went to school with Quinn."

"She doesn't remember that mom. It was fine. It was all fine until Roger showed up and started behaving like a... jerk." Dani dearly wanted to call Roger something else but her mom frowned at all type of cursing.

"Roger and your father have to deal with these people at a business level sweetheart, it must have been mortifying to him."

"Yeah, mom. I'm sure it was. But I need the money; I can't give up good work just because it might upset them. If they are so upset Roger could very well convince Father to pay my tuition, couldn't he? I mean, he convinced him to stop paying it in the first place."

Just then the intercom on Dani's desk began to buzz, which meant Mrs. Shue – the CFO's first secretary – needed her, so she was forced to cut off her mom mid-sentence.

"Listen, I have to go." Dani said, even though she knew that her mother hated being rushed off the phone.

"But sweetheart,"

"I'm sorry."

"Well, at least say you'll come tonight. Your father wants the whole family to be here to greet his new associates."

"I'm sure he doesn't want me there."

"He said the whole family."

"Mom..." The intercom stopped and began again. "Look, fine. I'll try to make it. I'll call you later."

She ended the call and rushed to Mrs. Shue's desk. So far she had been very nice, but she didn't suffer fools or lazy people gladly, and Dani knew Mrs. Shue could and would make her life hell for as ittle or as long as Dani was her underling.

"Miss Watson," Mrs. Shue said as Dani reached her desk. "Because this is your first day, I'm willing to overlook this smal delay, but make no mistake, we run a tight ship here."

"I'm sorry, I'll be more careful."

"See that you are." She said and then handed Dani a stack of papers and asked her to take them downstairs to Mr. Anderson – the CFO himself – since he needed them for a meeting he was about to leave for.

She was about to run down when a new voice cut in. "Are those for Blaine, Emma?"

"Yes, Mr. Lopez." Mrs. Shue said sitting a little straighter. "He is waiting for you in the parking lot."

"I thought we were meeting here." Mr. Lopez said. His voice was a very pleasant baritone that commanded attention at once. Mr. Lopez – and Dani assumed he was THE Santiago Lopez – was a sold man in his thirties, his hair was black, and quite tall, his features were austere but striking, his attractiveness owing nothing to boyishness.

But attractive he was. Plus he had an aura of menace around him, like even if he was being pleasant and seemingly idle, his mind was still working, analyzing, five steps ahead of you.

Dani didn't like him.

"He must have gotten confused." Mrs. Shue said reaching for the phone. "I'll call him up."

"Just tell him I'll be down in a moment. And I'll take these." He said, taking the papers from Dani's hands. He had large hands, she noticed, with strong fingers. They weren't the hands of an idle man, the looked rough and capable.

Dani blinked at them and next thing she knew Lopez was gone and she was standing like a fool, still in front of Mrs. Shue's desk. The other woman had gone back to business mode, telling Dani what her next task would be.

And for the rest of the afternoon, Dani rushed to and fro, busy like a bee, half hoping she had to do a lot of overtime so she had a good reason to skip the dreaded dinner. But at five sharp, Mrs. Shue told her that they were done for the day, and reminded her to come straight up to the main office the following morning rather than losing time at Human Resources.

Resigned to the unavoidable, Dani took the subway to Grand Central and then the train out of the city and into Easton Falls. Since she was running so late and her mother had already called twice, Dani reluctantly took a cab and raced to her father's estate.

Elaine Watson was driving Santiago mad – both in the going crazy and being pissed off senses of the world. She kept pressing herself to him, and making thinly veiled passes at him, her flirting heavy handled. And though Santiago was no saint and had no problem with taking what was offered from time to time, he appreaciated a little subtlety, quality of which Elaine had none of.

Elaine was a beautiful in the cookie-cutter kind of way – everything about her was refined and thin and polished – but after being married to a stunner like Maddison Anderson for three years, Santiago had learned that pretty could become really disappointing very fast.

He was half listening, as Blaine talked with Rick, outlining some of the changes Santiago wanted to implement in the company. The older man wasn't pleased with the 'suggestions' but was trying hard to keep his temper on a leash. Roger was positively enraged and wasn't dissimulating nearly as well, which was amusing at least. But it also made him think about the waitress at the wedding.

He had been thinking about her a lot over the lasst couple of days. Why, today while he was at Blaine's office he had stalked a little secretary because he had overheard her talking on the phone – mumbling, really – and she had been talking about someone named Roger.

He had followed her all the way to Emma's desk only to realize, once that he had her in front of him, that he hadn't take a proper look at the waitress as to compare her with this girl and that while the name certainly wasn't as common as Richard or Robert, the name was hardly exclusive to Roger Watson – hell, it might have been a last name instead of a name, which was far more common.

And the secretary had been a shy little thing, hardly the type to stand up to a dick like Roger, anyway.

Just as he was starting to wonder when dinner was going to be served, the front door opened and closed with a bang, and a few moments later someone was at the doorway to the living room, breathless and talking fast.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I had a lot of work because my boss had to leave for..." She trailed off as she suddenly found herself the center of attention as everyone turned to look at her. She swallowed and finished, with a mumble, "... for a meeting."

"Well, now that we are all here, dinner can begin." Mrs. Watson said brightly, standing up and crossing the room now to the new comer. "Gentleme, this is our youngest daughter, Daniella. Dani, darling, these are Mr. Lopez and Mr. Anderson – your father's new associates in the company."

"Pleased to meet you," Dani said, not making eye contact.

Blaine answered in kind while Santiago just nodded.

"Well, shall we?" Mrs. Watson said again. "Dani, darling, why don't you go wash up quickly and join us at the table, directly?"

"Yes, Mom." She said and quickly slinked away as the rest of the family began the procession to the formal dinning room.

Santiago hung back with Blaine, waiting until everyone else had left before whispering: "Are you aware that you have Daniella Watson working at your office as a temp?"

"I do?" Blaine asked, checking his phone for message before setting it on vibrate.

"You do. How can you not know?"

Blaine shrugged, "I think we got a new temp today, but really, Emma goes through them so fast that I don't even try to keep track." And then he typed something quickly on his phone and put it away, beginning to walk toward the dinning room.

Long ago, Dani had mastered the art of suffering the Watson Family Dinners. She knew all the variables: guest or no guest, when it was other family members or business associates, friends or just the family itself. She knew the key to it all was to keep her head down and pretend to be deeply engrossed by her food and only speak if she was spoken too and agreed with whatever everyone else was saying. Such behavior still annoyed her half-siblings but her father didn't seem to notice.

That night, she focused on pushing her beets and turnips to the edge of the plate and messing them up enough so it looked like she had eaten some of them, and trying hard not to engage in conversation with either Mr. Anderson or Mr. Lopez as she dearly wished to keep her father in the dark about her new job at Lopez' Incorporated.

Dani doubted Mr. Anderson would recognize her, but maybe Lopez' would... maybe. Or maybe not. Dani knew she was rather unremarkable, that men like Santiago Lopez didn't take notice of 'tempts', but she rather not risk it.

Near the end of the meal, out came the dessert and her father opened a bottle of chapagne to toast the 'merger' of Watson Communications and Lopez' Incorporated. Which was only a way of saying that they owned his ass.

As the champagne flutes were passed around. Dani noticed there wasn't one for her, and she told herself that she was 20, she really shouldn't be drinking, but she knew she just hadn't been considered in the head-count and that her mother had just probably wanted her around, and not her father.

Dani took a deep breath and was reaching for her goblet of water when a champagne flute appeared in front of her.

"I believe we are on one shot." Santiago Lopez said and Dani knew he was giving her his own glass.

"Oh, Dani isn't allowed to drink," Elaine said and hastily added "yet." Though it was clear that she was irritated.

But her father just nodded at the maid and quickly brought another flute. "I don't think a celebratory sip will harm her," her father said, turning on the charm though his smile didn't reach his eyes.

Instead she turned to Mr. Lopez and started to make a speech.

Dani listened to her father and took a couple of small sips from the champagne when it was requierd, but as the whole group began to move back to the living room for coffee, she knew it was time to go.

"Mom, I need to head back to the city." Dani said quickly. "The last train leaves in half an hour."

"Oh, darling, do you really have to go?" Her mother asked, her voice taking that fluttery note that made her sound like a helpless child and usually got Dani to do whatever she wanted.

"Yes, I have a lot of work tomorrow."

"Surely your boss isn't an ogre." Santiago Lopez said, and Dani realized that he had been standing behind her the whole time. And she knew that she had been recognized, probably from the start.

Dani smiled and played dumb, "I'm just starting and I want to give a good impression."

"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?"

"No, I'm sorry. I really should go or I'll miss the train."

"I will take you." Lopez said, he hadn't moved an inch. "We should be heading back to the city as well."

"Mr. Lopez, you can't possibly leave." Elaine said, pressing herself to him. "The evening is young, yet." She added.

He just smiled, extricated himself from Elaine's grip and went to say goodbye to Mr. Watson the elder. And soon, Dan found herself escorted outside by both Mr. Lopez and Mr. Anderson, who didn't seem to be quite steady on his feet.

As they walked outside, Dani saw a driver waiting next to a non-descript town car and clearly that was not the vehicle the men had arrived with since Mr. Anderson stared at it curiously.

"I called when you started hitting the wine," Mr. Lopez said to his friend. "Noah is already waiting for you. I'll drive your car back to the city and have someone drop it off at your place tomorrow morning."

Mr. Anderson frowned, then smiled and tossed his keys to the other man. "Thanks! Try not to crash my car, will you?" He added as he went down the fronts stairs to the awaiting car.

Once Blaine was in the car, Mr. Lopez turned to Dani and said, "Follow me."

"You really don't have to take me back to the city, if you could drop me by the train station..." Dani said as she practically trotted after him, taking two stepes of each of his.

"I said I would drive you and I will." He said, slowing only a little.

"There's no need for it, Mr. Lopez." Dani insisted but he just kept walking around the house toward the garage, like he owned the place and before Dani knew it he was holding a sleek of the door open, silver Maserati and she was climbing inside.

At first, the car was in utter silence and Dani was happy to stare out the window at the landmarks of her childhood. Regardless of its inhabitants, Easton Falls was a rather beautiful of a bit artificial place.

As they approached the city, Santiago finally broke the silence when he asked, "So, tell me Miss Watson, how does Rick Watson's daughter ends up working as a temp and catering weddings on weekends?"

**To Be Continued**

**A/N: Hey again, thank you for reviews. I hope you like the new chapter. Thank you and Enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh Hello, Sorry this isn't an update. Just needed to know, Should I rewrite the story and Make it Santana instead of Santiago? Please let me know, 'cause people been saying the same thing already so I just wanted to make sure before I change the characters! REVIEW PLEASE!**

**A/N : Thank you for your oppinion, question and suggestion, really appreciate it. 'till next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Summary : Dani used to fading into the background of her family and she never imagined that being nice to a little girl at a party would bring her to Santiago Lopez's attention. He's rich, older and used to getting what he wants. And Dani won't be an exception._**

**The First Day & The Dinner**

**Chapter Three**

"So, tell me Miss Watson, how does Rick Watson's daughter ends up working as a temp and catering weddings on weekends?"

Dani looked at him, at his profile. His wasn't a face a boy would wear comfortably, but on a man it was striking. She let his question fill the silence between them and then turned to stare out the window again. "Same reason anyone would take a job. I need the money. College is expensive."

"Doesn't your father pay for it?"

Dani shook her head. "He doesn't approve my major. Said that if I don't want to study something productive I can pay for it myself."

"What are you studying? Ultimate Frisbee?"

"Literature, with a focus on children's lit. I want to become a children's librarian." Dani said. "But that's a master so I have to save up for that."

"So, you like children?" He asked, surprising Dani, she had expected him to drop the conversation, most people did if they ever found out her dad was rich but he wouldn't pay for anything, either because they felt sorry for her or because they thought she was a whinny brat.

"Yes. I do." Dani said and to stall further conversation she asked, "Would you mind it terribly if I turned the radio on?"

He shook his head and said, "Go ahead," and Dani reached out trying to find the right button among the rocket launch pad that passed for console of the car. After she had pushed two different buttons – one of which turned the air conditioning on – Santiago pushed a button on the steering wheel and the news report came on.

"Thanks." Dani said, and moved her hand to try turn the air conditioner off just as he did the same. Dani got to the button first and pushed it, dropping her hand quickly.

"Would you prefer music? I can look for a station. Or, I think Blaine keeps some CD's in the player..."

"It's fine, Mr. Lopez." Dani said. "By the way, I live in the Lower East Side, if it's too out of your way you can drop me off at any station."

"It's fine." He said and then, "But I didn't know there were any dorms in the Lower East Side."

"There aren't. I don't live in the dorms. It's too expensive." Dani said cheerfully and gave him directions that took him to the East River Park and to a nice brick building.

"You can't afford a dorm but you can afford this?" He asked, surprised.

"I live at a friend's apartment and pitch in for utilities and bills." Dani said, trying to stop chattering as she usually did when she was nervous. "Hence the many jobs." She couldn't help adding.

"I understand." He said. "I had three jobs and a scholarship when I went to college."

"I didn't qualify for scholarships, just a bit of financial aid." Dani sighed. "Anyway, thanks for the ride, Mr. Lopez."

"Santiago, you can call me Santiago." He said impulsively as she began to undo her seat belt.

Dani smiled, "I can't call you that, Mr. Lopez. You're my boss."

"I'm your boss's boss." He said, "And you're my new business associate's daughter."

"That has hardly ever signified." Dani said with a sigh as she threw open the door. She was just stepping out when she was grabbed and twirled around.

Santiago couldn't see well, but he did hear a man's voice saying, "Thank God you're home, I'm starving!"

"I told you not to wait for me."

"Didn't have a choice I lost my keys. Now take pity on me and let's go eat."

"Alright, alright!" Dani said and reappeared in the frame of the door. "Thanks again. Drive safe!" She said before closing the door.

The man – or boy, as he must have been around Dani's own age, wrapped an arm around her and they crossed the street that way, but not before he asked, "Who was that old man?"

Which made Santiago – who had been eavesdropping – choke a bit. He had just turned 32 and he was in the best shape of his life!

Before he could get worked up, the car was filled with a shrill ringing and Santiago pushed yet another button on steering wheel, cutting off the news report on the radio to answer his phone.

"Did you really think the town car was necessary?" Blaine's voice came out of the speakers, and it was filled part with irony and part with gentle mocking. He sounded sober as a judge, though.

"Didn't want to make you drive out of your way."

"From what the files tell me, Miss Watson lives but 10 minutes away from me, Santiago. The one who just drove considerably out of his way, is you."

Santiago grumbled but chose to ignore that, "What else is on the file?"

"Stuff," Blaine said.

"Blaine..."

"I'll show you the file tomorrow if you are good..." his friend answered in a singsong voice. "Now I got to go. Noah and I are going out since I came back early and all. See you tomorrow. Give my niece a kiss. And don't scratch my car."

"As if Anderson."

"Bye for now." Blaine said and hung up.

If it weren't because he was a brilliant CFO, Santiago figured he would have sacked Blaine long ago. That and because the dick was his best friend... and because Noah would babysit Rachel at the drop of the hat, even when she was sick.

Usually, Santiago didn't mind that his circle of friends was so small... except when one half of it was irritating him.

Dani sat with her best friend Broody at a Noddle Bar two streets away from their building, pigging out on the "all you can eat after 9" promotion the restaurant held every week.

"So, who was the old dude?" Broody asked suddenly, going back to the conversation they had forgotten once they started to discuss dinner options.

"He's not that old," She began rolling her eyes. "I think he got bunch of stock in the company. That's the reason why I had to go back to Easton Falls, Father had a dinner party to 'welcome' him to the company. His name is Santiago Lopez." She finished.

"And he offered to drive you back to the city?"

"He said it wasn't out of his way."

Broody sighed, "I've never known any of your father's associates to be that courteous."

"Maybe he just wanted to ditch out early."

Broody nodded, and then seemed to remember, "Hey, isn't your new temp job at Lopez Inc.?"

"Yeah." Dani said, "It was awkward but at least they didn't out me in front of The Family."

"You really need to quit it with the temp jobs, Dani, you're going to work yourself into an early grave."

"I can't quit them, I need to save enough for the fall semester and start building a nest egg for when I go to graduate school."

"Dani, you know I can loan you the money."

"And you know I can't take it. You do more than enough letting me live at your place."

"Mom and Dad could help." He said.

"I know the would." She said, "But there is no way I could ever repay you. It's not like I'm going to be breaking the bank once I become a librarian."

"Mom and Dad wouldn't mind."

"I would." Dani said. She knew Mr. Mrs. Bretts would absolutely help and never remind her of it, and they wouldn't even miss the money, as they were .com millionaires with enough money to toss about. But Dani didn't want to bring money into the wonderful relationship she had with them and, really, they did more than enough letting her live with Broody.

"Fine then," he said, annoyed.

"You can pick up the tab if you want! All 25 dollars of it!" Dani said, waving the little scrap of paper the waitress had just left on their table.

"Oh, shut up." He said good-naturedly, but did take the bill and paid it.

Santiago was standing in Blaine's office, waiting for the other man to finish his conference call with the L.A. offices companies. He was looking out, peering through the shades that covered the glass panels that made up three of the office's walls.

Blaine's office had always seem rather like a fish tank to Santiago, but just now he was grateful for it, as it allowed him to easily look outside. Not that he was looking for anyone...

"She's not in today." Blaine said as he ended the call.

"Who?"

"Miss Daniella Marie Watson." Blaine said, settling back on his chair as he opened a file on his desk and began to read. "That's her middle name, you know? It's all her in the file.

"Give me that." Santiago said.

"Other than her birthday, I doubt there is anything interesting on it, it's just the file the temp agency faxed over. I already contracted Bricker and he's running a more through investigation."

"And you couldn't have told me that over the phone last night?" Santiago asked, quickly reading the half-page that gave only the most basic facts that made Dani Watson.

"And miss the priceless look on your face just about now?" Blaine asked with a laugh. But after a moment he sobered. "Bricker did find out who's the friend she lives with."

"Who is he?"

Blaine grinned, "So you know is a he?"

"He seemed to be waiting for year last night when I dropped her off. I over heard them talking."

"Stalking much?" Blaine said, raising an eyebrow - or trying to, it was a trick he had never mastered and usually ended up raising both eyebrows and looking perplexed.

"Says the man who as a P.I. on speed dial."

Blaine nodded, acknowledging the point. "Broody Bretts. He owns the apartment. Bricker said he'd have more information this afternoon."

"Tell him to bring it to me directly."

Blaine paused, as if he were thinking something and coming to a decision. "I'll do it, but I want to know why are you taking such interest on a temp."

"She's not just any temp, Blaine." Santiago said, "She's Watson's daughter. She could be corporate spy."

"The way her family treats her? I doubt it."

"It could all be an act. You can't know for sure."

"I was the unwanted kid of my own family, San. I recognize the signs. It wasn't an act." He said calmly. "And I know you, this has nothing to do with Watson Communications."

"It does."

Blaine shook his head, "Look, you can like to me all you want. You can even tell me to butt out your life. That's fine. Just don't like to yourself."

**A/N: Okay, thanks for reviews. As you says that doesn't matter, so I'm going to just continue this story, Enjoy the new chapter. Thank you, 'till next time. Ciao-**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Summary : Dani used to fading into the background of her family and she never imagined that being nice to a little girl at a party would bring her to Santiago Lopez's attention. He's rich, older and used to getting what he wants. And Dani won't be an exception._**

**The First Day & The Dinner**

**Chapter Four**

If there were two things that Dani hated being it was late and hot. And currently she was both. The early breakfast she had waitressed had run a little long, and the subway decided to move at a snail's pace and it was boiling hot, and now she was dashing through the lobby of Lopez Incorporated trying to get to the elevator. She was supposed to be at her desk five minutes ago.

Mrs. Shuester was generally nice, btu she did hate tardiness...

Dani was just thinking about this when she ran smack into a solid form waiting in front of the elevator bank.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Dani said, dropping to her knees to pick her purse and gather her keys and phone – which thankfully hadn't broken – and stuff them back into her purse, at which point she noticed that the strap had broken. "Damn!" She said under her breaath, it was her one good purse; the one Broody had given her last birthday.

"Are you all right?" The man she had to run into asked, and Dani winced, recognizing the voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, looking up to make sure that yes, she had ran into her boss' boss. I'm sorry, Mr. Lopez. I wasn't looking. I'm kind of late and Mrs. Shue..."

"She hates tardiness." He finished and offered his hand to help her up.

Just then she heard a ding! Behind him and realized that the elevator's doors were closing. "Wait!" She called but it was too late.

"Come on," Santiago said, keeping a hand around her arm as he took her to the elevator on the far side. Then he took a card out of his pocket and the elevator sprang open, no waiting required.

"Mr. Lopez! I can't get into the executives elevator!" Dani cried, but Santiago was already pushing her inside.

"I think I told you to call me Santiago."

"And I think I told you I can't! It's not approproate."

"Then arguing with me probably isn't appropriate either." He said, making Dani gape at him. "Think about it."

Dani closed her mouth and turned to stare at the floor's numbers as they passed by.

"You know, no matter how much you glare, they are not going to move faster."

"I wasn't glaring." Dani said and decided to look straight ahead, at the doors, instead.

"Do I make you uncomfortable, Dani?"

"No," Dani said all too quickly.

Santiago smiled. "You're a bad liar. I like that." He said with what looked suspiciously like a grin... if such a man were capable of the expression.

"I'm not!" Dani said though she knew it was true.

Thankfully, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Dani stepped off quickly and began to walk toward her desk, but before she could make it there Mrs. Shue hailed her to her own desk.

"You're late." Mrs. Shue said in a clipped voice.

"I know. I'm sorry." Dani said.

"Emma." Santiago said amicably, "Is Blaine in?"

"Yes, Mr. Lopez." Mrs. Shue said in an entirely different voice. "I'll let him know you're here."

"Thank you, Emma." He then turned to Dani. "Thank you for helping me with those files, Dani."

Dani's eyes widened, he was lying for her. "Okay... sure." She stammered.

Mrs. Shue glared at her though she was still on the intercom waiting for Blaine to pick up.

Santiago looked at her and nodded toward her desk, indicating she was dismissed, and Dani hurried off.

Dani settled her things in her small cubicle and was happy when one of the accountants gave her a pack of files to destroy – she rather liked using the paper shredders, and went to the filling room where they were stored. As she destroyed the papaers, Dani let her mind wander back to Santiaoo Lopez.

She didn't know why he had lied for her, she only knew he was very good at it. And she didn't know why he was paying any attention to her, but she didn't want to find out. Usually, whever someone like him paid her any attention, it didn't end up well for her.

-00-

"Seriously, man. What are you doing here?" Blaine said from where he sat behind his desk, where he was busy signing some papers.

"Just stopped by on my way up."

"I already gave you all the information Bricker dug up on that girl. She's not a corporate spy, you don't need to be down here all the time watching her each time she turns her back."

"That's not why I'm here. I needed to talk to you about the... Knight Acquisition."

"What about it?"

"We are meeting with me the Knight Group in L.A. next week to finalize the whole thing."

"I know. You sent me a memo yesterday.

"Oh, right. Just wanted to make sure you got it."

"I did. I signed the reception, you know?" Blaine said. "Now, would you mind getting back to your own floor? You know I like to lord over my minions with un-matched power. And having the big Kahuna down here messes with my mojo."

"Your mojo?" Santiago asked, stepping away from his contemplation of Dani Watson's cubicle.

"Yes, my mojo." Blaine sniffled.

"Do yourself a favor, Blaine, and never let Noah go, because trust me, you have no mojo."

"Says you." Blaine grinned. "Obviously Noah doesn't agree."

"Noah was probably dropped on his head as a child." Santiago said, which only made Blaine laugh like a maniac.

-00-

For the next couple of days, Dani focused on avoiding Mr. Lopez and not giving Mrs. Shue any reason to get mad at her. Luckily, the company was preparing for the next big acquisition, which kept her plently busy.

On Thursday, Dani was alone in the copy room, alternatively making Xeroxes of the newest versions of some documents and destroying the old versions in the paper shredders, when she felt someone was watching her.

She turned quickly and surprised yet relieved to find it wasn't Santiago Lopez standing there, but instead it was the little girl from the Hudson/Fabray wedding.

"Dani! I didn't know you worked here too!" She said, sauntering into the room.

"Rachel? What are you doing here?"

"I came with my Daddy. He and my uncles were supposed to take me to a movie, but Uncle Noah is still at work, and Daddy and my other Uncle were yelling at some people, and I got bored so I came here."

"They are probably worried about you!"

The little girl shook her head. "They think Emma is looking after me, but she was just running around, she looked funny.

"Miss Watson!" Mrs. Shue yelled at that moment, rushing into the copy room. "Are those copies ready?"

"Yes, ma'am." Dani said, handling the neatly stapled together stacks.

"Good." She said, dropping a new pile of documents on her lap. "Please destroy these, too." She was rushing out when she noticed Rachel just standing there. "Rachel! What are you – never mind." She said, taking a deep breath. "Miss Watson, can you watch over Rachel for a moment?"

Dani wanted to say that she was almost time for her lunch break, but then she saw Rachel and remembered the few times she had gone to her father's office and how she had been shuffled from underling to underling, sometimes for hours, because her father had forgotten she was even there. So she found herself saying: "Sure. No problem."

"Good, good." Mrs. Shue said absentmindedly and left.

Dani tried to keep Rachel occupied for a while, teaching her how to use the paper shredders – which she adored, squealing each time the machine started to go – and they quickly finished with the papers.

Then Dani took Rachel to her desk and, since it was getting late, decided it was time for lunch. Dani figured she wasn't supposed to take the kid out of the office so they would have to share the lunch Broody had packed for her that morning – something he did every once in a while when one of them booked and there were left overs.

Thankfully Rachel wasn't a picky eater and dug into the cold chicken salad and crackers.

"Oh, I have a treat for you." Dani said, remembering she had left something in the freezer in the staff room that morning. "Don't move, I'll be right back."

"Okay." Rachel said, nibbling at the last cracker.

When Dani returned, Rachel was talking on her cell phone – one of those kiddi-ones that only let you dial to pre-selected numbers – and saying. "Okay, Daddy. I'll wait here."

"Everything ok?" Dani asked as she re-settled and opened the small container she had pulled out of the freezer.

"Yup. But daddy said he's going to take longer than expected, so Uncle Noah is going to come take me home."

"Oh, I see." Dani said, feeling sad for the little girl,

"It's OK. Daddy's busy sometimes."

Dani smiled at Rachel, surprised at the child's maturity. "Anyway." Dani said, and drew Rachel's attention to the fat, golden grapes sitting in the container. "My best friend likes to freeze grapes when it's hot. They taste really good.

Rachel reached for a grape and started to tell her all sorts of things about her dad. That he was really tall, that her mommy didn't live with them, that he had promised to get her a puppy for her next birthday. And Dani found herself liking Rachel's dad. At first she had pegged him to be like her own father, someone who half the time forgot he had any kids to begin with, but for what she was hearing, not only Rachel was a complete Daddy's Girl, but her dad sounded pretty awesome.

And God knew her own father never let her had any pets of her own.

Just as they were finishing the grapes, a man approached the desk. He was rather gorgeous in that "I'm-so-good-at-sports" way. His hair was black and short, with a little mohawk on it. His features were a little rugged and very attractive.

"Rachel." He said hugging the child and lifting her up.

"Uncle Noah!" She said, squealing happily.

"Princess," He said, "Have you been behaving?"

"Of course!"

Noah looked at Rachel suspiciously and then turned to Dani, flashing her with a killer smile. "Is that true?"

"Rachel has been lovely." Dani said, smiling at the girl.

"Well then," He said, hugging Rachel. "Hi, I'm Noah Puckerman."

"Dani Watson." She said, smiling. "Wait, Noah Puckerman, like the sports writer?"

His smile grew, "One and the same."

"My best friend is such a huge fan of you! He's going to die when he finds out I've seen you up close!"

"Be sure to mention my great charm and incomparable wit."

Dani laughed, "Will do."

"Well, Dani, thank you for taking care of this little imp. We'll be out of your hair."

"It was no problem."

"Thanks anyway," He said.

-00-

It had always amused Santiago where Blaine ended up living. Having been born with the silver spoon firmly stuck in his mouth, Blaine was a bit of a princess, he had always been. And before meeting Noah, he had lived in a 5 million condo in the Upper East Side. But after Noah happened, Blaine had moved to a two-bedroom cramped apartment in the Lower East side where the elevator worked as often as it didn't.

Luckily, that day it was working, because Santiago was feeling exhausted. The more he dug into the finances of Watson Communications, the more he was convinced something was fishy there. But he had just spent all afternoon going over the company's financial records with Blaine and is team and he didn't want to work on it anymore.

As they walked into the apartment, Santiago was assaulted with the smells of tomato sauce and basil, and his stomach rumble

"Honey, I'm home." Blaine called, going into the apartment's tiny kitchen to kiss Noah while Rachel came rushing at Santiago, wearing about two pounds of spaghetti's sauce on her t-shirt.

"Daddy! Uncle Noah let me help him with the pasta!"

"I can tell, princess." He said, lifting her up and hugging her close.

"I promise the stains will come out." Noah said, stepping out of the kitchen with a bowl of salad. "Now, go wash up and come to the table, I just got the garlic bread out of the oven."

San and Blaine went to the apartment only bathroom, where they could barely stand side-by-side, and washed their hands. Once they got back to the table, Noah had Rachel say grace, and they began to pass around the dishes.

Santiago smiled; this was the only family he had ever known, his daughter the only blood-tie he had as far as he knew, and it felt so good to be there with them, having dinner like he had only ever seen on TV until he met these people, especially after such a tiring day.

"Did you get bored at the office today?" He asked Rachel. "Did you have fun with Mrs. Shue?"

"Yup!" She answered, settling down her glass of water. "Though I wasn't with Mrs. Shue."

Before Santiago could as with who she had been, Noah said, "I found her with a girl named Dani-Something? Wanson?"

"Watson?"

"I think so," Noah said, "She seemed like a nice girl. She was sharing her lunch with Rachel when I got here."

"I told you about Dani before, daddy. From the party, remember?" Rachel asked.

"I remember, pumpkin."

"Dani gave me frozen grapes, they were good." Rachel said and went on to describe the couple of hours she spent with Dani, and Santiago found himself smiling, and not only because he enjoyed hearing Rachel chatter up.

In the back of his head, though, he was already planning his next move where Dani Watson was concerned.

-00-

The next day, things seemed to be back to normal at the office, no one was rushing about and there were no more papers to destroy, so Dani had an otherwise tranquil morning, until the air conditioner decided to stop working and Dani decided she would splurge and buy herself a Frappuccino while the air conditioner got fixed.

As the elevator door's opened, Dani started to move forward and... collided with Santiago Lopez.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lopez." She said, trying to step around him. She only had a 20-minute break and really wanted to try to get a burrito from the stall down the street. Spicy food went surprisingly good with frozen coffee, she had found out.

But San simply escorted her back inside the elevator saying, "Good, I was looking for you."

"Did you need something?" Dani asked, mentally waving her burrito and coffee goodbye.

"Yes," He said, pushing the button to take them down to the underground parking and quickly keying an override code so the elevator wouldn't stop in any of the other floors. He noticed Dani was watching and shrugged, "They are re-carpeting the executive's elevator." He said.

"Oh." Dani said, since it seemed like she needed something to say. "So... what do you need?" She asked, wondering if he was going to send her off on an errand, in which case she needed to call Mrs. Shue.

He didn't answer right away, but all too soon the elevator's doors were opening and he escorted her to a sleek, gray Mercedes. "Where are we going?" She asked when he unlocked the passenger's door and held it open for her.

"You'll see," He said, closing the door and walking around the car to get behind the wheel.

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews. Enjoy the new chapter. Bye – see you next time!**


End file.
